APA's Early Career Membership Program

Create Planning's Future. Connect with APA.

APA offers an essential complement to the education and experience you receive early in your career. And — equally as important — you are essential to APA. As an emerging professional, you'll not only shape planning's future, you'll shape APA's future as well.

Our Early Career Membership Program connects you to a community of 40,000 planners, officials, and decision makers in more than 95 countries around the world. This five-year package of benefits and services is tailored to jump start your career and take you to the next level of success.

Full-time students that have never been an APA member are eligible to join the Early Career Membership Program. Learn more.

Benefits of the Early Career Membership Program

The Early Career Membership Program is affordable (less than the cost of a textbook!) for emerging professionals on tight budgets and, in addition to all the benefits of an APA regular member, Early Career Membership Program participants receive additional discounts.

Benefits of Early Career Membership Program by year plus all of the benefits of APA regular membership.

Who Is Eligible?

You're eligible to join APA's Early Career Membership Program if you:

are a full-time student, and

have never been an APA member.

If your academic program is not a full member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, you must be younger than 35 to join the Early Career Membership Program. Students who attend ACSP full-member programs may enroll in the Early Career Membership Program regardless of age.

A full-time student who is not eligible for a free year is welcome to join APA as a student member and enter the Early Career Membership Program as long as he or she is younger than 35 and has never been an APA member.